MARIANNE MALONE is the cofounder of the Campus School Middle School for Girls in Urbana, Illinois. She is the mother of three grown children and a former art teacher. Urbana and Washington, DC are where she and her spouse split their time. It's her debut novel, and it's a good one. Visit MarianneMalone.com for Teacher's Guides (with Common Core tie-ins) and more. This is an excerpt from the Hardcover edition.